How to make a bow for a wreath
First, choose a wired ribbon that you like. The entire roll, about 10 feet, will be needed.

Start by looping the ribbon through at the top of the wreath, or at the bottom if that's where you want the bow to be. Make sure the ribbon is lined up evenly.

Tie a double shoestring bow. Tie one shoestring bow, followed by a second shoestring bow. Pull the bows tight.

Make sure the bow is as large as is proportionate to the wreath. The wire in the ribbon allows you to make the bow flared and full.

The two sections of ribbon that are left hanging look best when given a little curl. For each, wrap the ribbon around your hand tight. Then gently pull the ribbon down and off of your hand. As it follows the natural taper of your hand, the ribbon curls into a wave. The wire in the rbbon allows it to hold shape.

A nice way to mount the wreath is to use another piece of ribbon tied to the back of the wreath.

Transcript

LISA: Hi I'm Lisa Birnbach for howdini.com. 'Tis the season to be very decorative with anything green that you can find, right Rod?

ROD: Right.

LISA: And that's why we've invited Rod Martinez here. He works with Papyrus, the big stationary store chain, and he's going to show us how to decorate this green wreath.

ROD: Yes, I'm going to show you how to make this beautiful with just some wired ribbon here.

ROD: And it depends obviously if you want the bow on the top or the bottom. We're going to do it at the top, and what we want to do is make sure that we have equal amounts.

ROD: I am going to use the whole spoon and this is about ten feet here.

LISA: Uh-huh.

ROD: So here we go. I'm just going to wrap this once. And this is a very simple bow. It's a double shoestring bow basically.

LISA: So as if your child was losing his or her sneaker...

ROD: Exactly.

LISA: You wrap it twice.

ROD: Though we're going to do one bow here. Two loops. Nice and big because this is a big wreath. And I'm going to do another one here.

LISA: Oh...

ROD: Yeah...

LISA: Oh. Clever.

ROD: Let's see...do another one. And again you can make these loops a little bit bigger-

LISA: Mm-hmm.

ROD: Or a little bit smaller depending on your taste.

LISA: Mm-hmm.

ROD: Now, you can just, since this is wired ribbon we can fluff it nicely like this. And now here's the trick. What do you do with the rest of this here that's left over?

LISA: Uh, I'm not sure.

ROD: Really easy. You can take your hand, wrap it around, and again it's wired so...

LISA: It obeys you.

ROD: It'll keep that shape. And your hand naturally combs down.

LISA: Right.

ROD: So, here we go.

LISA: Oh that is something.

ROD: Isn't that nice?

LISA: It is very nice. It is very nice. Very festive.

ROD: Add a few ornaments. Very nice and classy.

LISA: Very. Thank you so much.

ROD: You're welcome.

LISA: Can I have it?

ROD: You sure can. It's yours.

LISA: For howdini.com I'm Lisa Birnbach.

meet theexpert

Rod Martinez Professional Gift Wrapper, Papyrus
Manager of Papyrus' flagship store in New York City, Rod Martinez is an expert gift wrapper who amazes clients with gorgeously wrapped gifts for occasions throughout the year.
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